Get BackLinks the Right way (Post Panda Link Building Tips)

I have been busy doing some link building for a couple of new projects as well as existing blogs and their sub-domains. It didn’t take me too long to figure out that, post Panda, things are not getting any easier to get my pages ranked via link building.

So I decided to take some corrective actions with respect to the way I have been doing my link building activities. These actions included (1) Removing bad links (2) Avoiding link packages from those SEO experts and (3) Building/Rebuilding links from the right places at the right pace.

Based on my research and theory (still evolving), the following are some of the best link building practices you can follow to acquire or get backlinks in a way that it helps your cause.

Go Get Backlinks the preferred way

The tips listed below are by no means a comprehensive list nor something that might work for everyone. I found them working for me after the Google Panda attacks on some of my websites (not this blog) and hence thought of jotting down the same.

1. Clean Up act first

The first thing to do is to remove any bad backlinks wherever possible. As you know, it is not always possible to correct every damage that has been done in the past. However, the following things are possible:

Forum links: If you had the habit of creating backlinks via forum signatures, it is probably time to change or remove them. Forums create numerous backlinks with the same anchor text and sometimes from totally unrelated topics. Removing these links is more like a one-time fix that you can do by removing the signatures.

Template sponsorship links: Next, you may now want search Google for your template sponsorship back links description and see if there are any rated site linking to you via using the theme that you sponsored. You may then request the particular blogger or webmaster to remove these links – mind you, at times you have to provide technical help to get that done in your favor.

Remove any automated links: Links that are created via automated tools or plugins (e.g. Text Link Ads etc) may be instantly removed via subscribing out of such programs.

2. Work on Internal Links

Your internal links are as important and powerful as good external links. You may read my post on internal link building for more details.

The only point I would like add here new is that you need to use several variations of anchor text even in internal linking. This is very important in the Panda era.

3. Get Good Links

Here are some Do’s and Don’ts bullet points for effective link building in a safe manner.

Avoid massive link packages: Basically if someone is offering you a 25000 forum, wiki or blog backlinks for 25 bucks or so, just avoid it. One needs to also avoid massive comment or trackback packages

Directory inclusions: These are still fine as long as they are manually edited and approved directories

Diversify your anchor texts: Never ever build links for your primary keyword alone. Support it with five to ten secondary and long tail keywords to make the link building look more natural. You can even include generic anchor texts (such as ‘click here’, ‘this link’, ‘you may read this’ etc). At the end a good mix of related anchor texts will do the job for you

Avoid focusing on your home page: It doesn’t quite help to have thousands of backlinks to your home page and nothing to internal pages. A better way of link building is to use deep linking to your key pages including links to ‘About Us’ pages,
‘Our services’ etc

Do guest posts than commenting: Somehow, I get a feeling that blog commenting is no more doing the job as much as it did in the past. A good way of building quality links are via guest posts or relevant manual deep linking with mutual understanding

Totally avoid spinning: Article marketing is something that needs to be totally avoided, regardless of those ‘Panda and Penguin safe’ offers

Get Social links: Search Engines are giving more and more weightage to Facebook and Twitter buzz. Getting social links and social media generated traffic is a real boon to your sites (I am low on this aspect, however, retweets are doing the job for some of my sites)

Summary

In short, it is best to avoid bulk link purchases, article spinning etc. Concentrate more on deep linking, natural link building methods such as guest posting or exchanging links with close acquaintances.

Dean,
I personally reduced my forum activities However, at times it has helped me to create some affiliate sales.

Panda is screwing up many sites – especially in the technical niche, IM, howto sites etc. Fortunately, this blog is not affected yet though one of my high profile ventures after huge traffic boost in the first four-five months got trashed lately.

About this Blog & Blogger

I am Ajith Edassery, an Internet Marketer from Bangalore. I quit my High-paid job in the Software Industry to pursue Blogging, Internet Marketing and other Home-based money making opportunities. Read more...